This gorgeous stretch of country, filling the southern tip of the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve, offers plenty of hiking possibilities among moody glacial lakes and crumbling hills that evoke the craggy countryside of Scotland.

The road northwest of Latacunga loops through a series of remote indigenous villages. The spectacular scenery in this region—in particular the incredible beauty of Lake Quilotoa—makes this a very popular hiking destination.

Ecuador is about the same size as Colorado, but its terrain varies from pacific beaches to 5000-meter-high peaks and tropical rainforest. Such diversity contains an astonishing array of creatures; here are the top five destinations for wildlife watching.

Yasuní National Park is one of Ecuador’s last great wildernesses and the country’s largest mainland national park. Untouched by the last ice age, this park is one of the world’s most biodiverse areas, home to 500 species of birds and more than 60 percent of Ecuador’s mammals.